Should Pet Groomers Offer Handstripping?

Of the many add-on services that grooming businesses can offer clients, handstripping may be one of the most talked about among stylists. Social media and grooming groups have many posts about whether pet groomers should offer it, how to do it, whether it is beneficial or harmful to the dog and many more questions about the process—most with no clear answers.

We are in the business of trimming dog hair by many different methods. Often we recreate the characteristic look of a particular breed by using means that are quicker than the traditional but offer similar results, at least to the pet owners’ eyes. For example, most of us clip the back of a Cocker Spaniel instead of the traditional show dog methods of carding and thinning the back coat, as that carding and thinning takes a lot longer and many owners are not willing or able to pay us for that extra time.

Most terriers that have the classic hard, wiry coats are groomed for the show ring by handstripping. Pet grooms often involve clipping.

Handstripping has gained a certain cachet among pet owners, even those that don't really understand what is involved. Clients often know only that it's how show dogs of their breed are done, and perhaps that it will maintain the natural color and texture of the coat as clipping most likely will not. And if you are not a groomer that has spent much time in and around the competitive breed show rings, you may not know all the ins and outs either. I know I didn't, and I was taught the basic techniques of handstripping a coat in grooming school. The basics didn't give me all I needed to do a good handstripping job on a pet.

We also need to be familiar with the stages of growth in dogs’ hair.

Dog hair has two components, undercoat which is the shorter, softer, finer lighter colored hairs that grow in profusion and guard hairs which are the longer, coarser, darker colored hairs that grow through and conceal the undercoat. Human hair grows one per hair follicle while dogs grow multiple hairs of both types in each follicle. The undercoat provides insulation against both heat and cold while the guard hairs provide protection and in many cases waterproofing. Most dogs have both types of coat.

Anagen is the growth stage and how long that stage is determines how long hair will get to be. A really long anagen stage creates long hair—Lhasa Apsos for example—it just keeps growing. A really short anagen stage means short hair—like a Pug. Catagen is the stage in which growth stops and the hair goes into telogen and just rests. Once that stage is done, exogen begins and the hair is shed. Depending upon the breed, anagen may last from a few weeks to a year. In northern breeds, telogen is extended as they need to keep their hair to keep them warm for more months.

What is Handstripping?

It's a method of removing coat by means of a knife—like tool held against the thumb, grasping dead coat between thumb and blade, and pulling it out in the direction of growth. Plucking is doing the same thing with thumb and forefinger. It can also include carding which is combing over the coat with various tools in order to remove undercoat. It is ideal to keep a handstripped coat in thirds—about a third is in the resting phase or the shedding phase and is ready to be stripped out, so you are generally pulling out the longest hairs. That's why it doesn't cause the dog discomfort—done correctly, you are mostly pulling out dead hair anyway. Once you’ve plucked that out, the nice tight terrier "jacket" of hair that is brightly colored and not dull is coat that is in anagen and catagen, and that should be about a third of the coat. The final third is new coat in anagen, possibly still in the hair follicle and not showing yet. As the coat goes through the stages of growth, what was the nice tight terrier jacket becomes the dead coat, ready to be pulled out, and the final third has grown out of the follicles and becomes the new tight terrier jacket. When the coat has not been plucked for some time and most of it is dead—in exogen—it's referred to as blown. Once you’ve stripped out everything that's dead and ready to come out there's nothing much left—this is referred to by some as "taking the dog down to his underwear." Once the guard hairs grow back in, you can strip out about half of what's grown in, creating that cycle of one third again and bringing the coat back to its natural, vividly colored and hard wiry texture.

The Benefits

Daryl Conner, owner/stylist at FairWinds Grooming Studio in Appleton Maine and a popular industry journalist offers handstripping to her clients.

"We have a large clientele of terrier owners who travel a long distance to have us strip their dog's coats. These are predominantly people who appreciate the physical qualities of the coat described in their dog's breed description. A stripped coat looks nicer because it retains deeper color and a nice luster. It also keeps a more correct, harsh texture, which means a pet coat that sheds dirt more effectively and feels good to stroke, too!"

Conner also makes sure that her customers understand that bringing dogs in for the service every six or eight weeks will not provide them with a dog that looks as though it could go in the show ring. She explains the frequency needed for that is more than most people want to do—but that the color, texture, and healthier skin will be achieved on the more do-able schedule.

Pet Handstrip vs. Show Handstrip

When stripping a coat for show, it is often done in sections, especially on larger breeds, called "rolling" the coat. The groomer times stripping each section in a manner that allows each section to be at the right length at the time of the next show. This requires frequent sessions, probably more than most pet owners are willing to pay for. Often, even owners of retired champions don't understand how often the dog had different areas of its body stripped in order to look good at a show; most frequently the handler had the dog at their facility doing the grooming leading up to a show so the owner rarely saw the entire process. In addition, most of the dog would be done by hand but in a pet groom, the head, ears, and sometimes flatwork (chest and front of shoulder area) are often clipped and blended to save time.

Furnishings may be scissored or clipped with a snap—on comb rather than plucked as for show. Scott Wasserman, known as "Mr. Terrier" in the grooming industry and author of "The Art of Handstripping," says "I require all of my pet strips to be once a month. It's easier on me and the dogs. It's possible to get a decent roll and the dog looks good. Show dogs are done at least weekly to maintain the perfect coat. Flatwork areas are usually taken down to skin on Monday or Tuesday and grown out long enough to show by Friday. Some people break the areas down and do different sections on different days on dogs like Airedales because they are large. I always did the whole dog in one day." More information is available on Wasserman's Facebook page, GroomEd, or on his website MrTerrier.com, or just look for him at shows.

Required Tools

What we call handstripping is in reality a combination of carding, stripping and plucking techniques. There are many tools that can accomplish these methods and it comes down to personal preference for the most part. Anything with small teeth can be a carding tool, from a handheld #30 or #40 blade to dozens of shedding tools. These serve mostly to remove undercoat. Too much undercoat can make the wiry jacket look less smooth so some should be carded out but use care—too much, and thin spots may result.

Daryl Conner uses an Andis deshedding tool to remove undercoat, and a variety of stripping knives and stones (similar to a pumice stone) to pull the longer coat. Knives come in fine, medium, and coarse as well as a number of other specialty knives such as ear knives. Knife is a bit of a misnomer as the hair is not cut but pulled out whole—like tweezing eyebrows rather than shaving legs. Most important is to make sure the tool is comfortable in your hand as plucking or stripping can be hard on your hands. Fairwinds also uses finger cots (like latex gloves but for finger and thumb) and a bit of chalk to improve grip and make it easier on the dog. Scott Wasserman suggests that chalk, stripping powder, and ear powder all work well.

What About Bathing?

This one's controversial. Maintaining that waterproof terrier jacket is easier with a dog that is bathed infrequently, but the pet owner probably wants their dog bathed each time. Some groomers bathe head, genital areas and legs but use water only on the back every other groom. Some wash the dog as usual. Most groomers bathe after stripping the coat as it is easier to do on a dirty coat and easier on the dog, plus any chalk residue is easily washed away. The other side of that is that plucking hair out, even dead hair, is leaving a minute opening in the skin that bacteria can potentially get into, running the risk of furunculosis or other skin issues. Whichever way you choose, tepid to cool water is best to keep those follicles closed. And Scott Wasserman suggests using an antimicrobial shampoo.

Clipped coat can look very precise, but even if you card afterward (recommended) it will never have quite the authentic look of a handstripped coat. Clipped coat grows in softer, and seemingly thicker and a duller color. Most terriers have bands of color on each hair shaft, giving a richer, deeper color when they are plucked out. When clipped, each hair is cut to the same length giving a dull and muddy look. It may seem thicker for the same reason, but it isn't.

Yet offering this service has to be cost effective. It's just not sensible to offer it and not make money. Yes, it can be good advertising but a nicely handstripped dog will likely bring in mostly potential handstrip clients, so make sure your prices reflect the time and technique that it takes. Some clients will want their dog done "the way the show dogs are done" even if the coat is unsuitable, the dog does not tolerate it well, or it's been clipped for years. (Sometimes a previously clipped coat can be brought back to where it can be stripped—but not always and it's a LOT of work.)

The good news is that there are more books and videos that teach the finer points of handstripping than ever before. Grooming shows sometimes have classes or you can make an arrangement with a show groomer to teach you. So, if you are in or near an area that can support the prices you need to charge, there are many options available for learning more about it. PB

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